With so many changes to the tax code, most taxpayers have a hard time keeping up. According to an April 25, 2013 article from Accounting Today, (IRS Tells Congress Tax Season Ran Smoothly After a Bumpy Start) there have been 5,000 changes to the Tax Code within the last decade. This makes the statistics understandable, that business owners and employed taxpayers (or their tax preparers) spend over 6 billion hours just preparing to file taxes, and over $ 160 billion in compliance with Tax Code mandates. The murky waters of capital gains taxes are certainly a part of those 6 billion hours. Platinum Tax Defenders offers tips, and says that especially tricky issues involving capital gains may be simpler if the taxpayer employs a tax resolution services with an on-staff tax attorney.

First, capital gains is the difference between the buying and selling price of a capital asset. According to an IRS tax tip in February 2011 (Ten Important Facts About Capital Gains and Losses), a capital asset can be a house, stocks and bonds, or even home furniture that counts as an investment.

Second, according to a Bankrate.com article updated on February 28, 2013 (No capital gains due for some investors), there are many restrictions on the zero capital gains rule that seems so beneficial. Assets must have been owned for a year or more. The single owner’s taxable income must be $ 400,000 or lower, and the married couple’s income must be capped at $ 450,000. Anything above that gets either a 15% or a 20% capital gains rate.

Third, capital gains rates are made more accessible by relating to taxable income, not adjusted gross income (AGI), and the difference can be substantial. It is a capital gains advantage to be in the 10% to 15% tax bracket, making $ 70,000 or lower per year after adjusting for deductions (itemized or standard), and allowing for personal exemptions. This could mean that a couple with two children as exemptions, making somewhere around $ 100,000 jointly, could theoretically owe nothing on their capital gains.

Fourth, if taxpayers are well under the $ 400,000 income limit, capital gains can be taxed at different rates. Below the threshold of $ 72,500, there is 0% capital gains. If the couple made more, and a portion of that was capital gains, it would initially be taxed at 15%.

Fifth, as pointed out in Smart Money’s February 4, 2013 article (Capital Gains: At What Rate Will Your Sale Be Taxed?), there are the complicated real estate rules. Depreciation on property can be deducted over a series of years. However, if the property sells above the original price, the depreciation amount taken off of prior year taxes can now be taxed at 25%. The rest of the gain may land in the 15% taxable rate. This is enough to drive even accountants mad,” commented one Platinum Tax Defenders specialist.

There are also rules for those receiving Social Security, the 28% rate for collectible items and small business stock, and the 3.9% Medicare surtax added on to investments for those with an AGI of $ 200,000. Exclusions are high for homeowners who are selling their main residence after living in it for two years or more. Platinum Tax Defenders encourages taxpayers with capital gains questions and tax relief needs to seek out a tax attorney for details, so that complications don’t result in IRS notices of an unpaid balance.

Platinum Tax Defenders, begun by Sherri Gastelum, has a dedicated team of 10 professionals. These include a tax attorney, CPA’s and former IRS agents. Sherri has twenty years of experience in tax and corporate business issues. Free consultations are available for those with questions, and range from 25 to 45 minutes, so that a qualified tax resolution professional can examine the situation’s specifics and talk through strategies for dealing with the IRS.

For more information from Platinum Tax Defenders on capital gains or back taxes issues, call 1-877-668-1807 or send an email to info(at)tax-resolution(dot)me.

The New Rich Generation has evolved from the lessons learned during the Great Recession and is characterized by a passionate Socially Responsible people that have found the key to having a richer quality of life is by having less baggage to maintain and more time to live a healthier and fulfilling lifestyle while truly belonging to a community. These people have found that getting to Less is about living a more sophisticated, efficient, and fulfilling lifestyle by creatively streamlining and tailoring ones living patterns and environment. When you do this right, you find that you are empowered to set apart more time to enjoy the things that attribute to a richer quality of life. This New Rich Generation is not age specific; rather, it is defined by a like minded demographic that is a part of an empowering, sophisticated social movement that has chosen to invest in what matters most to them.

Here is how one talented Architect is taking on the challenge to support the New Rich living style through Green Building Community Design. Rani Guram, Architect specializing in Green Building and Socially Responsible Land Planning design (http://www.GuramArchitects.com), is incorporating the characteristics of the New Rich lifestyle by creating sophisticated Home and Community design for efficient and empowering living environments. Her designs empower people to live Large by consuming Less when living in her uniquely tailored Smart Designs that are created to reduce the time, energy, and resources typically spent on dwellings in traditional living environments.

According to Rani: Too often people run the rat race of life trying to fulfill what they believe is the American dream, and they complain about its toll on their health, relationships, and personal motivation to maintain this “dream”. They just say well, that is the way it is, this is how we all have to live if we are going to keep up with the Jones’. Then many lost their homes during the Great Recession and realized all the years of energy and resources they put into that investment blew away in a matter of a few years. They know now there must be a better way. Well, I am offering a solution, through my Creative Living Designs that can help change the course of our lives to start enjoying a better quality of life. As an Architect and Community Designer for Rani Guram Architects LLC (http://www.GuramArchitects.com), I explore how living environments can change peoples lives positively. I strongly believe that the trend in our future housing market and urban development process will steer away from the typical 3 bedroom, 2 ? bath, single family lot suburban prototype, to a new highly evolved and efficient home design within a Village Community Development. This shift or evolution in the housing trend is purposed to economize the consumption of our personal resources, our natural environment’s resources, our energy and time, in order to support lifestyle changes that allow for more free time to enjoy personal interests, healthy physical activity, and quality supportive social interaction.

Here are some important statistics that influence and have characterized the New Rich way of thinking. More people live alone now than at any other time in history. According to an article in USA Today (http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-05-02/living-alone/54585114/1) Census data released in May of 2012 says 31 million households in 2010 consisted of just one person, 4 million more than 2000. According to the new data, singles make up 27% of U.S. households; in several large cities, including New York, San Francisco, Atlanta and Washington, D.C., it’s more than 40%.

So what does this startling statistic mean for the future housing trend?

According to Rani, We cannot keep designing as usual these 3 bedroom 2 ? bath houses that we once believed we had to have to keep the resale value. Now, we must acknowledge the significant shift in our demographics and the ideals the New Rich generation values in life and for the natural environment, and start designing for their particular needs and living and social habits. I have purposed to create designs that are directed by principles tailored for the sophisticated lifestyle of this New Rich generation, as well as for the growing single population, who want more of life through efficiency in living and more access to vibrant, supportive, social interaction. Architects these days have to start thinking differently when designing homes, we must think sophisticated efficiency in design and how to make more out of less.”

To find out how you can personally benefit from living in a New Rich Home Design and Community Oriented Development and how to transition your lifestyle to gain more time to spend on things that bring true meaning to you and your familys lives, contact Rani Guram Architects at http://www.GuramArchitects, go to contact us, to schedule your free consultation on New Rich Living through Sophisticated Design.

The housing market has shown some promising signs of late, but a fresh batch of foreclosure data offers a reminder that any recovery from the housing bust will likely be slow, spotty and painful. RealtyTrac reported Thursday that foreclosure filings rose by 9 percent in May from a month earlier, to 205,990 total properties that were subject to default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions.

The jump in foreclosure activity was likely because lenders are finally getting to a backlog of homes they might have started foreclosing on last year if they werent facing criticism for cutting corners and pushing foreclosures through too quickly and without adequate controls, said Daren Blomquist, vice president with RealtyTrac. He noted that the major increases came from properties that are just starting the foreclosure process. The robo-signing scandal, in which foreclosure documents were signed without property reviewing individual cases, prompted banks to hold back on new foreclosures pending a settlement, as reported by ABC News last year.

Still, the figures for May are down 4 percent from a year ago. In addition, recent sales data suggests that not all homes with foreclosure filings will result in the bank taking the property. Based on the rise in pre-foreclosure sales weve seen so far this year, a higher percentage of these new foreclosure starts will likely end up as short sales or auction sales to third parties rather than bank repossessions going forward, Brandon Moore, RealtyTracs CEO, said in a statement. Lance Denha, Esq., of The Law Offices of Lance Denha cautioned however That while these other instruments preclude the banks from taking direct possession of the home, the end result is the homeowner is losing their home without subjecting the bank to the very scrutiny that resulted in their $ 26 Billion settlement with 49 State Attorney Generals just last year. Homeowners should understand that they have the ability and opportunity to convert these types of non-judicial foreclosures into the judicial courts via filing wrongful foreclosure actions, temporary restraining orders, quiet title actions, etc. should they discover wrongdoing associated with their mortgage.

Mr. Lance Denha further added that Many defenses can be made by the defendant (Homeowner) to prevent their bank from forcing a short sale or auction as well as any repossession process by their lender. A securitization analysis is one of the most powerful tools available to a foreclosure defense firm making these cases highly defensible if not winnable. Blomquist noted that some of these houses entering the foreclosure process will still end up being repossessed by the bank. In addition, the increase in foreclosure activity that is expected, as banks work through their backlog, could put a damper on housing prices once again, at least in some parts of the country. I actually think the stabilization in home prices and home sales, in part, is a result of the foreclosure inventory being artificially restricted over the past year and a half, he said.

It is highly advisable to seek legal expertise to determine the best course of action moving forward in order to gain an understanding of the particular direction best suited for the client. The Law Offices of Lance Denha P.A. is committed to ensure that every possible avenue is pursed so that the homeowners legal rights are preserved. Actively monitoring the ever changing landscape of foreclosure laws, recent foreclosures across the nation as well as state imposed rules and procedures associated with foreclosure, is vital to ensure and protect these rights. The Law Offices of Lance Denha P.A. is a multistate law firm and helps legally defend wrongful foreclosures against homeowners and utilize any and all legal tactics available to help accomplish preserving homeowners rights. For further information or assistance, please call at 954-840-0770.